Two charged in MBTA bleach, knife attack

A Dorchester man and a Roxbury juvenile were arraigned yesterday on charges stemming from a stabbing and bleach attack that began onboard an MBTA bus in Dorchester last week, District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said Thursday.

A Dorchester man and a Roxbury juvenile were arraigned yesterday on charges stemming from a stabbing and bleach attack that began onboard an MBTA bus in Dorchester last week, District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said Thursday.

Jahmahl Galloway, 20, was arraigned in Dorchester District Court on a charge of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. Assistant District Attorney Courtney Doherty requested that he be held on $10,000 bail. Judge James Coffey set bail in the amount of $500 and ordered him to stay away and have no contact with the victims and witnesses in the case.

Arraigned in the Juvenile Session of Dorchester District Court was a 16-year-old female from Roxbury charged with three counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. Doherty requested bail be set at $10,000. Judge Joseph Johnston imposed bail of $2,500 and ordered that she be held without bail pending a probation violation hearing scheduled for Dec. 18. Johnston additionally ordered that the teen stay away and have no contact with victims and witnesses to the case, wear a GPS monitoring device, and remain under house arrest if she is released on bail.

According to prosecutors, Transit Police officers responded just after 4 p.m. on Dec. 6 to the intersection of Washington and Park streets after a melee broke out onboard a Route 23 bus and spread onto the street. The bus operator told police that he heard an unknown person on the bus shout, “There’s a knife, there’s a knife,” prompting him to stop the bus and open the front and rear doors to allow passengers to exit. The driver witnessed passengers fighting as they exited the bus.

During the altercation outside the bus, one victim was stabbed in the head and suffered a 1-inch laceration. That victim, a second victim, and Galloway were all splashed with bleach that the female assailant allegedly threw from a soda bottle, prosecutors said. Galloway was treated by Boston EMS before fleeing the scene. The two victims were transported to area hospitals.Police recovered the knife, bleach stained clothing, and a Pepsi bottle containing bleach residue from thescene.

Investigators viewed surveillance footage from the bus, which showed the female assailant raise a steak knife and then open a Pepsi bottle containing a clear liquid as she exited the bus, according to prosecutors. The footage also depicts a physical altercation between Galloway and one victim outside the bus in which Galloway was knocked to the ground. The younger teen attempted to hand Galloway the soda bottle containing bleach, but he instead grabbed the knife from her and used it to stab the victim in the head, prosecutors said.

A Transit Police officer with previous knowledge of Galloway positively identified him from surveillance images.

Transit Police distributed images of the female attacker to Boston School Police, school officials, and Juvenile Probation officers. A school police officer and probation officer each identified the teen.Images posted to the teen’s Facebook page earlier on the day the attack show her wearing the same pants, boots, and ring that she is seen wearing in surveillance video taken from the bus. Photos posted to the site over the summer depict the teen wearing a GPS ankle bracelet, allowing investigators to confirm through records that the defendant was assigned to wear such a device during that time period, prosecutors said. Moreover, in a Facebook post written after the assault, the teen allegedly acknowledged that the incident had occurred.

Galloway is represented by R.P. Harland. He will return to court on Jan. 24. The juvenile defendant is represented by Cecely Reardon. She will return to Dorchester Juvenile Court on Dec. 23.